Search - 2023

 
 
Aryna Sabalenka will be seeking her second Grand Slam title when she competes in the Australian Open final on Saturday.
TENNIS
Jan 26, 2024

Aryna Sabalenka looking to lean on experience in Australian Open final

The world No. 2 is the favorite to claim her second major crown at Rod Laver Arena.
Unfortunately for Japan, the demographic cliff is approaching and the government will need more than minor course adjustments to fix its Self-Defense Forces' recruitment woes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 26, 2024

Cosmetic changes won’t fix the SDF’s recruitment problem

Facing demographic decline, Japan explores innovative solutions to boost recruitment in the Self-Defense Forces.
Vietnamese people take Japanese lessons in Hanoi in June 2023 before heading to Japan to work.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2024

Number of foreign workers in Japan surpasses 2 million for first time

Tokyo has the largest population of foreign workers, followed by Aichi and Osaka prefectures.
E. Jean Carroll and her attorneys Shawn Crowley and Roberta Kaplan react outside the Manhattan Federal Court, after the verdict in the second civil trial was reached after she accused former U.S. President Donald Trump of raping her decades ago, in New York on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 27, 2024

Jury orders Trump to pay $83 million for sex assault defamation

Writer E. Jean Carroll said the former president had destroyed her reputation as a trustworthy journalist by denying he raped her.
Taylor Swift attends the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 7.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 27, 2024

Outrage over deepfake porn images of Taylor Swift

One image of the U.S. megastar was seen 47 million times on X, the former Twitter, before it was removed Thursday.
Flour is distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at its headquarters in Khan Youni in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 22.
WORLD
Jan 27, 2024

U.N. fires Gaza staff over claims they joined Hamas attack

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he "is horrified by the news” that workers with the U.N. agency may have been involved in the attack.
A woman grills a piece of beef at a barbeque restaurant in Yokohama. Greenhouse gas emissions from food amount to a third of all human-caused emissions.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jan 28, 2024

The complicated balance between health and climate in the Japanese diet

In Japan, people with higher-emitting diets also tend to eat healthier, raising questions for the health- and environment-conscious consumer.
International rules governing the ethical conduct of war prohibit the direct targeting of civilians but permit striking military targets, even when it is known that the strikes will kill some civilians.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 25, 2024

The killing of innocents in the Israel-Gaza conflict

Unmasking the true horrors in Hamas' raid into Southern Israel and the Israeli response in Gaza.
Mesut Hancer holds the hand of his 15-year-old daughter Irmak, who died in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, the day after the quake struck the country's southeast, on Feb. 7, 2023.
WORLD
Jan 29, 2024

'Time has stopped': Grieving father relives Turkish quake

An image of Mesut Hancer's daughter Irmak, lying dead among debris, was picked up by world media.
Pedestrians walk near collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, on Jan. 18. More than 850,000 buildings crumbled in the initial quake and the thousands of aftershocks that followed.
WORLD / Society
Jan 29, 2024

Fear, uncertainty and grief year after Turkey's quake

A year later, hundreds of thousands remain displaced while the quake-prone country waits in fear for the next big shake.
Toyota's Land Cruiser 300 SUV is among models subject to a halt in shipments after irregularities were found during certification tests for diesel engines.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2024

Toyota halts shipment of some vehicles over certification issues

A special investigative committee found irregularities during horsepower output testing for the certification of three diesel engine models.
Masanao Saito harvests his mikan tangerines with his grandson, Akihito Oyama, at his farm in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture, on Dec. 8. Behind them are apple trees full of fruit.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Feb 5, 2024

How fruit farmers in Tohoku are coping with climate change

Last year, extreme heat dubbed the "boiling Earth" phenomenon hit the region’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries hard.
Gold badges distributed to Fukuoka Prefectural Assembly members after the April 2023 election. The prices for both types doubled from four years ago.
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Feb 19, 2024

Gold assembly badges worth millions of yen unreturned in Kyushu

Each elected member receives a new badge for every election and is supposed to return them on losing an election or retiring from politics.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda at a news conference in Tokyo on Jan. 23. In it, he delivered a consistent message about the bank's intentions moving forward.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 29, 2024

BOJ's Ueda finds his mojo as rate message cuts through

After some growing pains, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda finally delivers a clear message on the bank's intentions. He should keep at it.
Qatar's Akram Afif in action with Palestine's Mohammed Saleh and Mahmoud Abuwarda in the two sides' Asian Cup last-16 match in Al Khor, Qatar, on Monday
SOCCER
Jan 30, 2024

Qatar ends Palestine run; Jordan stuns Iraq with Asian Cup late show

Qatar will face the winner of Tuesday's last-16 meeting between Uzbekistan and Thailand. Jordan will meet Tajikistan.
A young family member of Palestine defender and captain Musab al-Battat cheers as she watches the live television broadcast of the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup football match between Qatar and Palestine, in al-Dhahiriya, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on Monday.
SOCCER
Jan 30, 2024

West Bank fans proud of Palestine's Asian Cup progress

Some of the Palestinian squad have lost loved ones or have relatives trapped in Gaza.
Women walk past an army-related billboard at the All-Russia Exhibition Center in Moscow on Jan. 24.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2024

New anti-Ukraine disinformation campaign targets Western media

Examples of disinformation include thefts from the Paris catacombs by a Ukrainian and military aid misappropriated by Ukraine.
Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee competes at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Feb. 17, 2022.
OLYMPICS / Figure skating
Jan 30, 2024

Russian skater Valieva suspended for four years over doping

The Kremlin has slammed what it called a "politicized" decision.
Tourists board a ferry to Iriomote Island, Okinawa Prefecture, from Ishigaki, another island in the prefecture. The local government of the town of Taketomi, which includes Iriomote Island, is planning to introduce a visitor's tax to fund environmental protection measures in the face of rising tourist numbers.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 30, 2024

Local governments in Japan battle overtourism challenges

Officials are seeking ways to solve problems that emerge from higher tourist numbers, such as a shortage of taxis and the accumulation of garbage.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during a news conference in Nagoya on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2024

World No. 1 but mired in scandal: Toyota sees mixed start to 2024

Despite the steady performance of its business, the carmaker has been shaken by wrongdoing at group firms, leading to an apology from the chairman.
South Korean forward Cho Gue-sung (right) celebrates scoring his team's first goal during an Asian Cup match against Saudi Arabia in al-Rayyan, Qatar, on Tuesday.
SOCCER
Jan 31, 2024

South Korea sets up Australia clash as Uzbeks plot Asian Cup 'surprise'

Klinsmann's men dominated both periods of extra time but were guilty of over-elaborating.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerbeg. In October, more than 30 states sued Meta, alleging its social media apps were feeding harmful content to youth.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 31, 2024

Social media CEOs brace for child safety scrutiny: Here's what to expect

Evidence suggests that excessive use of social media and harmful content may damage mental health.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama reacts after a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Jan 31, 2024

Top pick Wembanyama and Magic's Banchero in NBA Rising Stars event

The event, featuring four seven-player teams, will be staged on Feb. 16, two days before the NBA All-Star Game at Indianapolis.
Industrial output in December rose a seasonally-adjusted 1.8% from the previous month, following a 0.9% decline in November, with the industry ministry maintaining its basic assessment that it is fluctuating indecisively.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2024

Japan’s factory output gains to support economy’s patchy rebound

The rebound may potentially remove a hurdle for the Bank of Japan as it mulls the timing of a likely interest rate hike.
China's rural banking system plays a crucial role in lending to underdeveloped areas, but many had long struggled with weak profits, soured assets and lax governance.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2024

China merges hundreds of rural banks as financial risks mount

But legacy issues — if unresolved — could still cripple the operations of the newly formed institutions and cause bigger problems.
An F-16 fighter jet in Spangdahlem, Germany, on June 14, 2023
WORLD / Politics
Jan 31, 2024

U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashes off South Korea's west coast

The pilot ejected safely and was recovered, the U.S. military said, hailing close cooperation with South Korea during the rescue operation.
A Japan Post delivery truck. Certain parcels will take longer to arrive under changes set to begin in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024

Japan Post announces delayed timeframes for express deliveries

The changes come as part of an effort to cope with stricter regulations on truck drivers’ working hours.
A Chinese hacking group known as Volt Typhoon has alarmed intelligence officials, who say it is part of a larger effort to compromise Western critical infrastructure.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 31, 2024

What is Volt Typhoon, the alleged China-backed hacking group?

Intelligence officials say the group is part of a larger effort to compromise Western critical infrastructure.
Garments at a Shein Group pop-up store inside a Forever-21 store in the Times Square neighborhood of New York on Nov. 10, 2023
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024

Cars and online retailers outperform as China exports disappoint

The sectors represented the fastest expansion among China's economy, with an export value of at least $10 billion.
A bottle of Bayer AG Roundup brand weedkiller concentrate
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 31, 2024

Bayer faces billions in Roundup claims as legal strategy falls short

In the firm's biggest courtroom loss so far, a jury awarded $2.25 billion to a former user who blamed his cancer diagnosis on exposure to the herbicide.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?